title: Quantitative changes of nitrergic neurons during postnatal development of chicken myenteric plexus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Information regarding the development of the enteric nervous system (ENS) is important for understanding the functional abnormalities of the gut. Because fertilized chicken eggs provide easy access to embryos, chicken models have been widely used to study embryonic development of myenteric plexus; however, no study has been focused on the postnatal period. The aim of this study was to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the nitrergic neurons in the myenteric plexus of developing chickens in the postnatal period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Whole-mount preparations of the myenteric plexus were made in 7-d, 15-d, and 40-d old (adult) chickens of either sex (n=15). The myenteric plexus was studied after nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry using light microscopy, digital photography, and Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software. The numbers of positively stained neurons and ganglia were counted in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, and colon in the different age groups. Data were expressed as mean±standard deviation (SD), and statistical analysis was performed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The positively stained neurons showed various morphologies and staining intensities, and formed bead-shaped and U-shaped arrangements in the myenteric plexus. The densities of neurons and ganglia increased with age. However, the number of positive neurons per ganglion increased. The number of NADPH-d-positive neurons was highest in the colon, followed by the ileum, the jejunum, the duodenum, and the caeca in all age groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Developmental changes in the myenteric plexus of chickens continue in the postnatal period, indicating that the maturation process of the gastrointestinal function is gradual. In addition, no significant difference is happening among different intestinal segments during postnatal development, suggesting that the function of different intestinal segments had been determined after birth.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Department of Anatomy and Histology, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam 70060, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jameel Ahmed
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gandahi
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lin-li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xun-guang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qiu-sheng
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D008058:Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase / Q000737:chemistry; D017615:Enteric Nervous System / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007422:Intestines / Q000254:growth & development / Q000294:innervation; D008297:Male; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000254:growth & development*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D026602:Nitrergic Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D008058:Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase